Tax Reforms Committee proposes new ‘cost of collection’ for FIRS, NPA, others

By Opeyemi Abdulsalam

The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee has proposed that all revenue generating agencies will henceforth earn one percent on the revenue they generate.

Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, dropped the hint in Abuja at a public consultation workshop for reporters and public commentators.

Mr Oyedele highlighted the need to cut the cost of revenue collection to one percent aligning with international best practices.

The prevailing costs of collection in Nigeria range from per cent to over 30 percent.

The agencies that will be affected most are: the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which receives four percent as cost of collection; Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) seven percent and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) five percent.

“If an agency cannot collect revenue at one percent, it should not be collecting it at all. This reform aims at ensuring that the government agencies focus on their primary functions rather than duplicating tax collection efforts,” Mr Oyedele said.

The committee, according to Oyedele also plans to transform the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursement process.

The panel recommended that the disbursements to the three tiers of government process be changed from monthly to daily.

FAAC currently meets monthly to share money from the Federation Accounts to the federal, states and local government areas.

Mr Oyedele, who described the method as archaic similar to 1814 practices, said: “We believe the system can be configured to credit the accounts of local, state, and federal governments daily.”